Freqently Asked Questions
For Version 1.1 and above
Please mail all suggestions and additions to FreeBSD-FAQ@freefall.cdrom.com
Revision: $Id: FreeBSD.FAQ,v 1.9 1994/04/19 20:01:42 csgr Exp $
3 Commercial applications
Welcome to the FreeBSD 1.1 FAQ! This document tries to answer some of
the most frequently asked questions about FreeBSD 1.1 (or later, unless
specifically indicated). If there's something you're having trouble
with and you just don't see it here, then please send mail to:
freebsd-questions@freefall.cdrom.com
Some of the instructions here will also refer to auxilliary utilities
in the /usr/src/contrib/FAQ directory. CDROM purchasers and net folks who've
grabbed the FreeBSD 1.1 `srcdist' will have these files. If you don't have
the source distribution, then you can either grab the whole thing from:
freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-1.1
Or you can grab only those files you're interested in straight out of the
FreeBSD-current distribution in:
freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/src
FreeBSD is a UN*X type operating system based on William Jolitz's port
of UCB's Networking Release 2 to the i386, 386BSD. It is no longer
correct to say that FreeBSD is only 386BSD with the patchkit applied! There
have been many additions and bug fixes made throughout the entire system,
some of the highlights of which are:
More robust and extensive PC device support
SysV IPC, messaging and semaphores
Much improved virtual memory code
Better console driver support
Network booting (diskless) support
`LDT' support for WINE (primitive but developing Windows emulation)
Too many additional utilities and applications to mention
0.2 What are the FreeBSD mailing lists, and how can I get on them?
The following mailing lists are provided for FreeBSD users and developers.
For more information, send to majordomo@freefall.cdrom.com and include a
single line saying "help" in the body of your message.
freebsd-hackers: Useful for persons wishing to work on the internals.
freebsd-questions: General questions on FreeBSD.
freebsd-bugs: Where bugs should be sent.
freebsd-commit: This list caries the commit messages for freefall. Useful
for tracking ongoing work.
freebsd-scsi: Mailing list for SCSI developers.
freebsd-current: This list is for persons wishing to run FreeBSD-current
and caries announcements and discussions on current.
Please see also the FreeBSD mailing list FAQ in:
/usr/src/contrib/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/FreeBSD.mailing-list.FAQ
0.3 What are the various FreeBSD news groups?
While there are no groups currently dedicated to FreeBSD, you may find the
comp.os.386bsd.announce: For announcements
comp.os.386bsd.questions: For questions
comp.os.386bsd.development: For working on the internals
comp.os.386bsd.bugs: About bugs
comp.os.386bsd.misc: For items that don't fit anywhere else
NOTE: These groups cover all the *BSDs (FreeBSD, NetBSD, 386BSD).
1.1: I just installed my system and rebooted. Now I can't find the
extract or configure programs, where did they go?
These two commands are just shell functions defined in /.profile. To
get these back, or boot FreeBSD with a `-s' at the boot prompt.
1.2: I want to install FreeBSD unto a SCSI disk that has more than
1024 cylinders. How do I do it?
This depends. If you don't have DOS (or another operating system) on the
system, you can just keep the drive in native mode and simply make sure that
your root partition is below 1024 so the bios can boot the kernel from it.
It you also have DOS/some other OS on the drive then your best bet is to find
out what parameters that it thinks you have before installing FreeBSD. When
FreeBSD's installation procedure prompts you for these values, you should then
enter them rather than simply going with the defaults.
There is a freely available utility distributed with FreeBSD called `pfdisk'
(located in the tools/ subdirectory) which can be used for this purpose.
1.3: When I boot FreeBSD it says "Missing Operating System".
See above (1.2). This is classicaly a case of FreeBSD and DOS or some other
OS conflicting over their ideas of disk geometry. You will have to reinstall
FreeBSD, but obeying the instructions given above will almost always get you
1.4: I have an IDE drive with lots of bad blocks on it and FreeBSD doesn't
seem to install properly.
FreeBSD's bad block (bad144) handling is still not 100% (to put it charitably)
and it must unfortunately be said that if you've got an IDE or ESDI drive
with lots of bad blocks, then FreeBSD is probably not for you! That said, it
does work on thousands of IDE based systems, so you'd do well to try it first
IDE drives are *supposed* to come with built-in bad-block remapping;
if you have documentation for your drive, you may want to see if this
feature has been disabled on your drive. However, ESDI, RLL, and
ST-506 drives normally do not do this.
1.5: I have 32MB of memory, should I expect any special problems?
If you have an IDE controller, no. Likewise, if you have a full EISA
system with EISA disk controller or a working local bus controller
(read further) you'll have no problems. If you have an ISA system, or
an EISA system with an ISA disk controller then you will most
certainly have problems with the upper 16MB of memory due to the ISA
24 bit DMA limitation (which ISA cards in EISA systems will also
exhibit). If you have a local bus disk controller, then you should be
OK, UNLESS it's a Buslogic Bt445S with a revision less than `D' (BIOS
3.36 or earlier). Never fear, however, as all is not lost.
FreeBSD-current (and the upcoming FreeBSD 1.2) have bounce-buffer
support that make all of the above scenarios work with a full 32MB of
memory or more. You are therefore advised to simply pull 16MB of
memory out, install, and then see about upgrading to FreeBSD-current
or FreeBSD 1.2 (when it comes out) so that you can put it back.
1.6: Do I need to install the complete sources?
In general, no. However, we would strongly recommend that you
install, at a minimum, the `base' source kit, which includes several
of the files mentioned here, and the `sys' (kernel) source kit, which
includes sources for the kernel. There is nothing in the system which
requires the presence of the sources to operate, however, except for
the kernel-configuration program config(8). With the exception of the
kernel sources, our build structure is set up so that you can
read-only mount the sources from elsewhere via NFS and still be able
to make new binaries. (Because of the kernel-source restriction, we
recommend that you not mount this on /usr/src directly, but rather in
some other location with appropriate symbolic links to duplicate the
top-level structure of the source tree.)
Having the sources on-line and knowing how to build a system with them
will make it much easier for you to upgrade to future releases of
1.7: DES encryption software can not be exported from the United
States. If I live outside the US, how can I encrypt passwords?
Since the DES encryption algorithm, which is used by passwd(1) and
friends to encrypt passwords cannot legally be exported from the US,
non-US users should not download this software from US ftp sites.
There is however a replacement libcrypt available, based on sources
written in Australia by David Burren. This code is now available on
some non-US FreeBSD mirror sites. Sources for the unencumbered
librypt, and binaries of the programs which use it, can be obtained
from the following ftp sites:
South Africa: braae.ru.ac.za:/pub/FreeBSD/securedist/
owl.und.ac.za (currently uncertain)
Iceland: ftp.veda.is:/pub/crypt/FreeBSD/
The non-US securedist can be used as a direct replacement for the
encumbered US securedist. This securedist package is installed the
same way as the US package (see installation notes for details).
If you are going to install DES encryption, you should do so as soon
as possible, before installing other software.
Non-US users should please not download any encryption software from
the USA. This can get the maintainers of the sites from which the
software is downloaded into severe legal difficulties.
A non-US distribution of Kerberos is also being developed, and current
versions can generally be obtained by anonymous ftp from braae.ru.ac.za.
There is also a mailing list for the discussion of non-US encryption
software. For maore information, send an email message with a single
line saying "help" in the body of your message to majordomo@braae.ru.ac.za.
2.1: What kind of hard drives does FreeBSD run on?
FreeBSD supports ST-506 (sometimes called ``MFM''), RLL, and ESDI
drives, which are usually connected to WD-1002, WD-1003, or WD-1006
controllers (although clones should also work). FreeBSD also supports
IDE and SCSI hard drives.
2.2: What SCSI controllers are supported?
FreeBSD supports the following SCSI controllers:
Adaptec AH-1542 Series <ISA>
Buslogic BT-445 Series <VLB> (but see section 1.5)
UltraStor UH-14f Series <ISA>
There is supposed to be a UltraStor 24f driver floating around, but we're
not sure where (could someone please point us at it?). Note that we do
NOT support `Future Domain' or `IN2000' SCSI controllers, typically
the little $50 specials you get with some CDROM drives. You will have to
buy a more mainstream (and capable) SCSI controller. The Buslogic
controllers are currently the easiest to get.
2.3: What CD-ROM drives are supported by FreeBSD?
Any SCSI drive connected to a supported controller.
Mitsumi LU002(8bit), LU005(16bit) and FX001D(16bit 2x Speed).
FreeBSD does NOT support drives connected to a Sound Blaster or
non-SCSI SONY or Panasonic drives. A general rule of thumb when
selecting a CDROM drive for FreeBSD use is to buy a very standard SCSI
model; they cost more, but deliver very solid performance in return.
Do not be fooled by very cheap drives that, in turn, deliver VERY LOW
performance! As always, you get what you pay for.
The Mitsumi driver is known to be extremely slow compared to SCSI
2.4: What multi-port serial cards are supported by FreeBSD?
AST/4 and BOCA 4/8 port cards. Some unnamed clone cards have also been
known to work, especially those that claim to be AST compatible. Check
the man page for `sio' to get more information on configuring such cards.
2.5: Does FreeBSD support the AHA-2742 SCSI adapter from Adaptec?
No, FreeBSD does not. This is due to Adaptec's unwillingness to supply
programing information under other than non-disclosure. This is unfortunate.
2.6: I have a XXXX bus mouse. Is it supported and if so, how do I set
FreeBSD supports the Logitech and ATI Inport bus mice. You need to
add the following line to the kernel config file and recompile for the
device mse0 at isa? port 0x23c tty irq6 vector mseintr
2.7: I have a PS/2 mouse (`keyboard' mouse) [Alternatively: I have a
laptop with a trackball mouse]. How do I use it?
For the PS/2 mouse you need to look in /usr/src/contrib/FAQ/programs/psm,
which is John Solhed's port of the Linux PS/2 mouse driver.
Follow the directions in the package. You will also need to change your
Xconfig file to point to the mouse.
2.8: What types of tape drives are supported under FreeBSD?
FreeBSD supports SCSI, QIC-02 and QIC-40/80 (Floppy based) tape drives.
This includes Exabyte and DAT drives.
2.9: What sound cards are supported by FreeBSD?
FreeBSD supports the SoundBlaster, SoundBlaster Pro, Pro Audio Spectrum 16,
AdLib and Gravis UltraSound sound cards. There is also limited support
for MPU-401 and compatible midi cards. The SoundBlaster 16 and
SoundBlaster 16 ASP cards are not yet supported.
NOTE: This is only for sound! This driver does not support CD-ROMs, SCSI
or joysticks on these cards.
2.10: What network cards does FreeBSD support?
There is support for the following cards:
WD/SMC 8003,8013 and Elite Ultra (8216)
(*)The `ep' driver is known to have some problems; see the
/usr/src/KNOWNBUGS file for more details.
2.11: I have a 386/486sx/486SLC machine without a math co-processor.
Will this cause me any problems?
Generally no, but there are circumstances where you will take a hit,
either in performance or accuracy of the math emulation code (see
section 4.1). In particular, drawing arcs in X will be VERY slow.
It is highly recommended that you lay out the $50 or so for a math
co-processor; it's well worth it. NOTE: Some math co-processors
are better than others. It pains us to say it, but nobody ever got
fired for buying Intel. Unless you're sure it works with FreeBSD,
3 Commercial Applications
-------------------------
Note: This section is still very sparse, though we're hoping, of
course, that companies will add to it! :) The FreeBSD group has no
financial interest in any of the companies listed here but simply
lists them as a public service (and feels that commercial interest in
FreeBSD can have very positive effects on FreeBSD's long-term
viability). We encourage commercial software vendors to send their
entries here for inclusion.
3.1 Where can I get Motif for FreeBSD?
Sequoia International provides commercial quality Motif 1.2.3
development kits for FreeBSD 1.1 (with full shared library support) under
the product name of `SWiM'. Due to licensing restrictions from the OSF, and
the fact that Sequoia needs to make a living, these are NOT FREE, but
nonetheless quite reasonably priced in comparison to many other commercial
Motif distributions. Send electronic mail to `info@seq.com' for further
3.2 What about other commercial quality development systems for FreeBSD?
ParcPlace Systems, Inc. provides their excellent `Object Interface & Object
Builder' GUI development environment free of charge to FreeBSD users. Using
OI, you can develop Motif or OpenLook compliant applications in C++ with all
the benefits of a true GUI object hierarchy. This will be announced and
made available as part of the FreeBSD distribution very soon.
4.1: I want to run X, how do I go about it?
First, get the XFree86 distribution of X11R5 from XFree86.cdrom.com. The
version you want for FreeBSD 1.1 and later is XFree86 2.1. Follow the
instructions for installation carefully. You may then wish to read the
documentation for the ConfigXF86 tool, which assists you in configuring
XFree86 for your particular graphics card/mouse/etc.
4.1: I've been trying to run ghostscript on a 386 (or 486sx) with no
math co-processor and I keep getting errors. Whats up?
The problem here is due to the current FreeBSD math-emulator. You need to
pick up the sources to an alternate emulation package, which you may find in:
/usr/src/contrib/FAQ/programs/fpu-emu
Follow the instructions supplied.
This is a port of an older Linux math-emulator. At some point, FreeBSD's
default math emulator will be good enough that you can forget about
4.2: If I want something like seyon, term, kermit, emacs or any one of
hundreds of popular freeware utilities, is there a good place to
Yes, the FreeBSD `ports collection' was put together for just that purpose.
It contains some of the most often requested languages, editors, mail and
news reading programs, network software and many many megabytes of other
types of useful goodies. CDROM people will probably have the ports collection
already in /usr/ports, other folks can get at the latest snapshot of the
freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/ports
Note that freebsd's ftp server permits getting entire directories as one
(optionally gzip'd or compressed) tar file. Read the ftp welcome banner
4.3: I want all this neat software, but I haven't got the space or
CPU power to compile it all myself. Is there any way of getting
Yes. We support the concept of a `package', which is essentially a
gzip'd binary distribution with a little extra intelligence imbeded in
it for doing any custom installation work required. Packages can also
be installed or deinstalled again easily without having to know the
gory details. CDROM people will have a packages/ directory on their
CD, others can get the currently available packages from:
freebsd.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/FreeBSD/packages-1.1
Note that all ports may not be available as packages, and that new
packages are constantly being added. It is always a good idea to
check periodically to see which packages are available. A README
file in the packages directory provides more details on the care
and feeding of the package software, so no explicit details will
5.1: I've heard of something called FreeBSD-current. How do I run it, and
where can I get more information?
Read the file /usr/src/contrib/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/FreeBSD.current.policy, it
will tell you all you need to know.
5.2: What is this thing called `sup', and how do I use it?
SUP stands for Software Update Protocol, and was developed by CMU for
keeping their development trees in sync. We use it to keep remote sites
in sync with our central development sources.
To use it, you need to have direct internet connectivity (not just
mail or news). First, pick up the sup_bin.tgz package from:
freebsd.cdrom.com:/pub/FreeBSD/packages
Second, read the file /usr/src/contrib/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/FreeBSD.sup.faq.
This file describes how to setup sup on your machine. You may also
want to look at /usr/src/contrib/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/FreeBSD.*.supfile,
which are a set of supfiles for supping from freefall.cdrom.com
5.3: How do I create customized installation disks that I can give
out to other people at my site?
The entire process of creating installation disks and source and
binary archives is automated by various targets in
/usr/src/etc/Makefile. The information there should be enough to get
5.4: How do I re-build my system without clobbering the existing
If you define the environment variable DESTDIR while running `make
world' or `make install', the newly-created binaries will be deposited
in a directory tree identical to the installed one, rooted at
${DESTDIR}. Some random combination of shared libraries modifications
and program rebuilds can cause this to fail in `make world', however.
6.1: When I compile a kernel with multi-port serial code, it tells me
that only the first port is probed and the rest skiped due to
interupt conflicts. How do I fix this?
The problem here is that FreeBSD has code built-in to keep the kernel from
getting trashed due to hardware or software conflicts. The way to fix this
is to leave out the irq settings on other ports besides the first. Here is
# Multiport high-speed serial line - 16550 UARTS
device sio2 at isa? port 0x2a0 tty irq 5 flags 0x501 vector siointr
device sio3 at isa? port 0x2a8 tty flags 0x501 vector siointr
device sio4 at isa? port 0x2b0 tty flags 0x501 vector siointr
device sio5 at isa? port 0x2b8 tty flags 0x501 vector siointr
You may also want to look at the multi-port serial FAQ in
/usr/src/contrib/FAQ/OTHER-FAQS/multi-port.serial.FAQ.
6.2: FreeBSD is supposed to come with support for QIC-40/80 drives but
when I look, I can't find it.
You need to uncomment the following line in the generic config file (or add
it to your config file) and recompile.
controller fdc0 at isa? port "IO_FD1" bio irq 6 drq 2 vector fdintr
#tape ft0 at fdc0 drive 2
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
6.3: Does FreeBSD support IPC primitives like those in System V?
Yes, FreeBSD supports SYSV IPC. This includes shared memory, messages and
semaphores. You need to add the following lines to your kernel config to
options "SHMMAXPGS=64" # 256Kb of sharable memory
options SYSVSEM # enable for semaphores
options SYSVMSG # enable for messaging
6.4: Are there any utilities that make configuring a kernel easier?
Well, yes and no. Look in /sys/i386/doc/options.doc (/sys/doc on post 1.1
systems) for a list of kernel options you can set, and what they do. For
a friendlier front-end to the process, see /usr/src/contrib/configit
6.5: Will FreeBSD ever support other architectures?
Several different groups have expressed interest in working on
multi-architecture support for FreeBSD. If you are interested in
doing so, please contact the developers at
<FreeBSD-hackers@freefall.cdrom.com> for more information on our
6.6: I just wrote a device driver for a Foobar Systems, Inc.
Integrated Adaptive Gronkulator card. How do I get the
appropriate major numbers assigned?
This depends on whether or not you plan on making the driver
publically available. If you do, then please send us a copy of the
driver source code, plus the appropriate modifications to files.i386,
a sample configuration file entry, and the appropriate MAKEDEV code to
create any special files your device uses. If you do not, or are
unable to because of licensing restrictions, then character major
number 32 and block major number 8 have been reserved specifically for
this purpose; please use them. In any case, we'd appreciate hearing
about your driver on <FreeBSD-hackers@freefall.cdrom.com>.
7.1: How do I add a user easily? I read the man page and am more confused
than ever! [Alternatively: I didn't read the man page, I never read
Look at Gary Clark's perl package "AddIt", which may be found in
/usr/src/contrib/adduser. This is a first attempt at solving the problem
and may be replaced with a more complex but capable solution later.
7.2: I'm trying to use my printer and keep running into problems. I tried
looking at /etc/printcap, but it's close to useless. Any ideas?
Yes, you can pick up Andreas Klemm's apsfilter package from:
ftp.germany.eu.net:pub/comp/i386/Linux/Local.EUnet/People/akl/apsfilter-1.11.gz
This is a complete package for printing text, PS and DVI files. It
requires ghostscript and dvips.
If you are looking for a simple printcap just for PS and text files,
try picking up the printcap01 sources in:
/usr/src/contrib/FAQ/programs/printcap01
NOTE: We're looking for printcap entrys for all printers. If you have
one, or a filter for one, please send it or mail us a pointer to
FreeBSD-FAQ@freefall.cdrom.com. Thanks!
8.1: Where can I get information booting FreeBSD `diskless', that is
booting and running a FreeBSD box from a server rather than having
Please read /sys/i386/netboot/netboot.doc.
8.2: I've heard that you can use a FreeBSD box as a dedicated network
router - is there any easy support for this?
Internet standards and good engineering practice prohibit us from
providing packet forwarding by default in FreeBSD. You can enable
this support by adding `options GATEWAY' to your kernel configuration
file and recompiling. In most cases, you will also need to run a
routing process to tell other systems on your network about your
router; FreeBSD comes with the standard BSD routing daemon routed(8),
or for more complex situations you may want to try GateD (available by
FTP from gated.cornell.edu).
It is our duty to warn you that, even when FreeBSD is configured in
this way, it does not completely comply with the Internet standard
requirements for routers; however, it comes close enough for ordinary
There is a standard `router floppy' that you can boot on a FreeBSD
machine to configure it as a network router. Please look in:
freefall.cdrom.com:~ftp/pub/incoming/freertr
and follow the instructions.
8.3: Does FreeBSD support SLIP and PPP?
Yes. See the man pages for slattach and/or pppd if you're using FreeBSD
to connect to another site. If you're using FreeBSD as a server for other
machines, look at the man page for `sliplogin'.
8.4: How do I set up NTP?
NTP configuration is so complex and widely variable from site to site
that it would be impossible to make a blanket statement here. Your
best bet is to ask whoever's in charge of NTP at your site or network
provider; chances are that they are running a similar version of NTP
to the one that we provide, and they can probably provide you with the
right configuration files to get things going.
If you can't find anyone in charge, you should examine the files in
/usr/src/contrib/xntpd/doc and see if they help any. If not, you
could ask on the comp.protocols.time.ntp newsgroup, or the
`ntp@ni.umd.edu' mailing-list.
8.5: How do I get my network set up? I don't see how to make my
In the Berkeley networking framework, network interfaces are only
accessible directly by kernel code. Please see the /etc/netstart file
and the manual pages for the various network programs mentioned there
for more information. If this leaves you totally confused, then you
should pick up a book describing network administration on another
BSD-related operating system; with few significant exceptions,
administering networking on FreeBSD is basically the same as on SunOS
8.6: How do I get my 3C503 to use the other network port?
Use `ifconfig ed0' to see whether the ALTPHYS flag is set, and then
use either `ifconfig ed0 altphys' if it was off, or `ifconfig ed0
9.1: When I do a set line in kermit it locks up, whats the problem?
The problem here is that FreeBSD thinks it's talking to a incoming
modem connection, and is waiting for carrier to come up on it before
completing the open. To disable modem control, do an:
stty -f /dev/ttyXX clocal
(Where `ttyXX' is the tty port you're using). If you use a given port
only for outgoing connections, you may wish to put this command in
your /etc/rc.local to avoid having to do it every time you reboot
NOTE: Anyone wishing to submit a FAQ entry on how to get tip and cu working
would have it much appreciated! We all use kermit over here! :-)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you see a problem with this FAQ, or wish to submit an entry, please mail
us at FreeBSD-FAQ@freefall.cdrom.com. We appreciate your feedback, and cannot
make this a better FAQ without your help!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary Clark II - Our head FreeBSD FAQ maintanance man
Jordan Hubbard - Janitorial services (I don't do windows)
Robert Oliver, Jr. - Invaluable feedback and contributions
The FreeBSD Team - Kvetching, moaning, submitting data
And to any others we've forgotten, apologies and heartfelt thanks!
projects / unix-history / blob